Devil's Kitchen Lake is located just south of the farthest advance reached by glaciers during the Ice Ages.

[1] The drainage area surrounding Devil's Kitchen Lake was not very suitable for agriculture and, after being cleared in the early 19th century by frontier settlers, the region drifted out of cultivation.

Much of the land was condemned by the federal government during the Great Depression of the 1930s as a form of agricultural readjustment and relief.

The drainage area around Devil's Kitchen Lake was allocated to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Crab Orchard Wilderness, Panther Den Wilderness, and Shawnee National Forest.

[1] Other fish more familiar in Illinois are also found, such as the largemouth bass, bluegill, and crappie.